I was cooking a meal for our church's annual Passover celebration on April 17, 1999,
when I got a phone call from Guy at Howie's office: "Jeanne, Howie fell a little while
ago at work. He's lying down, but feeling OK now and talking. We've contacted the
paramedics who will be checking him out. Don't worry; he'll be all right. We'll call you
as soon as the paramedics decide what to do." I asked to talk to Howie. My heart was
pounding as he told me he had another seizure and collapsed in his cubicle. I prayed with
him and told him I would be with him as soon as possible. I called his folks and told
them what had happened. We were frightened, not knowing what to expect.

A while later I got another call from the railroad. Guy told me that Howie was being
transported to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens and I needed to meet him there. I
called his dad and he drove me to that hospital in the city. Howie looked all right, but I
could tell that he was frightened also. After he was in the hospital for a couple of hours,
the doctors filled out paperwork for him to be released. He got up to go to the restroom
and had another seizure on the way. Fortunately, a medic was close by- he caught him
and helped get him back on the bed. Howie had a CT scan. When he was finally
released a couple of hours later, the doctor in charge told us to make an appointment with
his own neurologist as soon as possible. As we went home, Howie was disappointed
because of what had happened and that we missed our church's Passover celebration.

Over the weekend, we were both down. We couldn't reach Dr. Engstrand, Howie's
neurologist, so we made an appointment for him to have an MRI on Monday. By
Tuesday, he was feeling better and wanted to go back to work, so I took him to the station
and went to my babysitting job. Later that morning, I received a call from his office
again. The secretary told me that Howie looked weak and lethargic and they were
sending him to the railroad's medical facility. I was to meet him there. My heart was
pounding again as I called his dad and told him the latest. I also called Carol, the mother
of Shannon who I babysat. She said to take her to a friend's house. I finally got through
to Dr. Engstrand. She told me she just found out that the MRI showed that Howie's
tumor had come back again. She called the neurosurgeon Dr. David Chalif who said that
Howie needed surgery again and was to go to the hospital right away for pre-op.

Howie's dad picked me up and we hurried to meet him at the railroad's medical facility.
We prayed on the way and I cried, knowing what Howie would soon be facing.

When we arrived at the medical facility, Howie was smiling and in good spirits. One
look at me, however, told him that something was very wrong. I broke down as I told
him the news about his latest MRI. He was very brave and calm as we went with his dad
to North Shore Hospital for more tests.

While Howie was undergoing pre-op testing in the hospital emergency room, his dad and
I sat in the waiting room. There was a newscast on the TV about a school shooting that
day. As the news unfolded, we realized that this was worse than previous school
shootings. The school was Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado, where numerous
students and teachers were shot by two young gunman on April 20, 1999.

o
Howie and I saw Dr. Chalif the next day and he arranged for Howie to have brain surgery
that Friday. He told us that there was a greater risk this time for paralysis on the left
side. I contacted everyone we knew, including our email prayer loop, and mounted a
massive prayer campaign for Howie and for the students, teachers, and parents at
Columbine High.

On Friday, April 23rd, Howie had his fifth brain surgery. As he was being wheeled into the
operating room, he was very calm and quoted Scripture while I cried. I was in the
waiting room praying through the Psalms when his folks, brother, and our friend Carleen,
who came to be an encourager, arrived. After approximately three hours of waiting, Dr.
Chalif came in and told us that he had successfully removed a small tumor regrowth
under the scalp and that Howie was alert and able to move his left side. I let out a shout
of joy and hugged the doctor. Howie's folks and I were able to visit him in the recovery
room. As soon as we walked in, Howie lifted his left arm and quoted Scripture to show
us that he still had his memory intact! We were thrilled to see another answer to prayer.
Even though our trials were far from over, we knew our Good Shepherd would always be
with us.

After Howie was moved to a regular room, we watched on TV the memorial services for
several of the victims of the Columbine massacre. Some of these victims evidenced a
strong faith in God in the face of death. One of the girls, Cassie Bemall, impressed us
deeply with her willingness to say "Yes" to her gunman when he asked her if she
believed in God right before he pulled the trigger. We were also moved while watching
the memorial to the gym teacher who gave his life to protect his students. And we felt
compassion for the families of the victims as well as for those who were severely injured.

There are several parallels I can draw between what happened to Howie that week and
the Columbine massacre. Each tragedy came suddenly and without warning, testing the
faith and showing forth the character of those who suffered. The lives of the survivors
and family members of the victims were forever changed. And the testimony of faith in
the face of incredible hardship and death impacted many for Christ and strengthened the
faith of countless numbers of believers. In that third week in April, '99, several heroes and
martyrs were revealed to the world.

FOR THOSE WHO HURT: Do you want your life to make an impact on others? Be
faithful to the LORD and content even in the face of tragedy. Focus on things above, not
on things of the world. And be ready at all times to confess your faith in Christ, even if it
means dying for His sake. The LORD said, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you
the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Our world needs more heroes who will be an
example of living and dying by faith.